Nine permutations of the second part of the rhythmic motif

Permutations and sections are so similar to one another that they can hardly be distinguished from one another. Therefore, this movement can be considered to be large texture of sounds which consists of two different timbres in each section. The first timbre is the rhythmic motifs which are played with alternative performance techniques; the focus here is on rhythm and rhythmic permutations. The second timbre is harmonics for strings which are heard in long and slow melodic lines; the focus here is on the intensification of dissonance between the harmonics. These two timbres can be compared to the different shadings of brown in Verskeur which can also be considered as an artwork that focuses on textures. The alternative performance techniques for the strings and percussion can be considered similar to the alternative way – collecting material from a rubbish dump – in which Willem Boshoff collected the material for this artwork.

Open strings are exclusively used for the rhythmic motif and its different permutations which are played with alternative performance techniques. The alternative performance techniques for the strings with which the rhythmic opening motif and its permutations are played are as follows. The first violin plays the first beat of each motif punta d’arco and the rest of the motif pizzicato. The second violin plays the rhythmic motifs col legno throughout. The viola plays the first beat of each rhythmic motif pizzicato and the rest of the motif is also played pizzicato but behind the bridge on that same string. The violoncello plays the first beat of each motif pizzicato and the rest of the motif with nail buzzes on the vibrating string.